A tough week for U.S. bobsled pilot Steve Holcomb on the sliding track in Winterberg, Germany culminated in a crash and a 20th-place finish in the four-man event on Saturday.

Holcomb crashed in a corner nine during the second of two runs in the World Cup race on Saturday – after crashing in corner nine during four-man training on Tuesday.

"Corner nine has always been an interesting corner because there's not a lot of variance in finding the right line," U.S. bobsled coach Brian Shimer said. "You have to be on the right line or you'll go over, and finding that spot is tough when you've only had two training runs in four-man."

It was the first time Holcomb didn't win a World Cup race this season, and it was not the start to the European season Holcomb wanted with the Sochi Winter Olympics a month away. He was dominant on the North American portion of the World Cup circuit in December, going 7-for-7 with three wins in four-man and four wins in two-man.

Holcomb was in medal contention after the first run – in second place by Germany's Maximilian Arndt, who ended up winning gold. Germany's Francesco Friedrich and Russia's Alexander Zubkov were second and third.

USA-2 pilot Nick Cunningham, who also crashed in corner nine during training, finished 12th. USA-3 pilot Cory Butner crashed in corner nine in the first run and failed to qualify for the second heat.

While Holcomb has had success on European tracks, he set out to prove he could continue his dominance headed into Sochi. He finished seventh in two-man on Friday.

After his crash in training, Holcomb wrote on Facebook, "Don't mistake my crash as weakness. On the contrary, it shows the commitment, courage, and determination my team has to win. In order to get better and go faster than you ever have before, you must step outside your comfort zone, try things you've never tried, do things you've never done, and see just how far you can push your limits. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't. Either way, you get back in the sled and go again."

The sled sustained some damage in the training run crash, but mechanic Jim Garde said it wouldn't impact performance on race day.

The World Cup circuit continues next week in St. Moritz, Switzerland. At last year's world championship in St. Moritz, Holcomb finished third in four-man and fourth in two-man.

"It's all about character now," Shimer said. "Life unfortunately gives you ups and downs, and the higher you go, the steeper you fall. We've all been through it, and we were prepared for the low. These guys are determined, probably the most motivated they've ever been, and whatever happens we keep looking ahead with the big picture in mind."